Feven Naba becomes 2nd Earlham grad in 4 years to be selected for Knight-Hennessy Scholarship

Feven Naba has become the second graduate from Earlham College in four years to be selected for Stanford University’s prestigious Knight-Hennessy Scholarship.

The three-year scholarship was awarded to just 90 students from around the world. The scholarship covers tuition at Stanford, a stipend for living expenses and access to the Denning House, an exclusive space for scholars to participate in leadership seminars, discussions and other social gatherings.

“I was really drawn in by the diversity of the 2024 cohort — not only racial diversity but the diversity of academic disciplines — and the opportunities for leadership development that the program offers,” Naba said. “I didn’t think I would get in, so I’m really grateful in so many ways to begin this journey.

“This program was exactly what I was looking for,” she said. “I’m thankful God opened the doors.”

Naba graduated from Earlham College and Columbia University as a dual-degree student in physics and biomedical engineering in spring 2024. At Stanford, she will pursue a Ph.D. in mechanical engineering with a focus on microfluidic diagnostic devices at the university’s School of Engineering.

“I want to make an impact,” said Naba, a native of Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. “I’m considering a career in academia, potentially as a professor or a researcher, but I’m also interested in policy making roles that would let me become involved in large scale decision-making processes, especially in resource-limited settings like Ethiopia.

“I want to systematically change things to make healthcare more accessible and affordable for people,” she said.

Long before becoming a Knight-Hennessy Scholar, Naba built a reputation as a change-maker at Earlham. In spring 2022, she was selected for a grant from Projects for Peace to establish an academic society and professional network in Ethiopia for women with an interest in STEM fields. The project, which was delayed by a year due to civil unrest in the region surrounding the country’s capital, offered workshops to 80 women at Addis Ababa University School of Engineering. The program also furnished Arduino kits, or scientific instruments that can be integrated into a variety of electronics projects, to the university. This year, two women who participated in the program are applying to Ph.D. programs in the United States.

“Meeting these women in Ethiopia gave me a sense of the need for additional education and mentorship for women in Ethiopia,” Naba said. “Speaking to these women, listening to their stories and sharing mine, was wonderful.”

Naba was also selected by Earlham for the American Chemical Society Undergraduate Award in Analytical Chemistry, the Jerry and Evelyn Bishop Scholarship, and the George Van Dyke Distinguished student in Physics Award.

“I really benefitted from the many mentors at Earlham that were committed to my success,” Naba said. “I also can’t say enough about the liberal arts experience I received. I think all engineers need strong training in the humanities and social sciences to better understand the relationship between their work and the impact it has on society and, for me, the training from Earlham provided that opportunity.”

Naba joins Cyrus Buckman from the Class of 2018 as Knight-Hennessy Scholars from Earlham. Buckman is pursuing an M.D. and an MBA from Stanford.

The Knight-Hennessy Scholars program seeks to cultivate and support a multidisciplinary and multicultural community of graduate students from around the world, aiming to do so through engaging experiences that prepare their fellows to be creative, visionary, courageous, and collaborative leaders that address some of the most complex challenges facing the world.

About Earlham College 

Earlham College and Earlham School of Religion foster a collaborative learning community that inspires and motivates students with transformative opportunities and experiences so they can become catalysts for good in a changing world. Located in Richmond, Indiana, Earlham is one of U.S. News & World Report’s Top 100 national liberal arts colleges and offers one of the top 20 classroom experiences in the nation, according to the Princeton Review.